The Crisis in Religion in Our Time: The Historic Transformation of the Three Great Monotheistic Religions
A talk by Jim Harb
Seekers of Silence, Knoxville, Tennessee, February 6, 2016
Most everyone in life has ups and downs. I’ve certainly had mine, and yet, throughout it all, one consistent theme of my life has been a general happiness. While I’m generally a positive person, my talk today could be thought by some as being negative, because it’s about some rather disturbing developments taking place in an important region of the world. But although my topic is about the crisis in the three great monotheistic religions that originate in the Middle East, there’s a deeper connection in my presentation to something positive, and to our spirituality. Ultimately, my talk today is aimed at trying to take a positive step to increase our spiritual capacity.
I know that I’m not the only one here today who sometimes feels a deep sadness or discouragement about the state of our world. It could be a sadness around politics, the environment, nuclear weapons, economic inequality, women’s or gay rights, our decaying urban infrastructure, possibly our health or mental health systems, spirituality or the lack thereof, or myriad other social issues. Wars and threats of wars are with us daily. You can take your pick; these are trying times for sure.
I was reading an article recently that resonated with some of my thoughts about current events in the Middle East. It was an interview with the author of this book, the author being psychotherapist Francis Weller. The book is titled “The Wild Edge of Sorrow; Rituals of Renewal and the Sacred Work of Grief.” Maybe you’ve heard of Weller and his writings on grief and sorrow. The article I read was, more or less, about grieving our losses. In the book, Weller invites us to view grief and loss as a visitor to be welcomed. He calls us to welcome grief reverently, acting as a good host, with kindness and hospitality. He counsels us that, in addition to feeling pain over something very personal, like the loss of a loved one, or maybe a life-threatening disease, we also harbor many other sorrows stemming from the state of the world and its daily losses. These tumble into our lives, circulating around us and inhabiting our psyches, consciously or not.
Healers and shamen in traditional cultures have long known that it’s not healthy to carry grief in the body for a long time. They also know that grief is a universal human experience into difficult, but also potentially rich, territory. And one of the main points Weller makes is that grief allows us to move from our loss to a place where we can experience life, and joy, and spirituality even deeper than before we experienced the loss; — once, that is, we’ve gone into the shadows and experienced and processed the grief. This same wisdom was expressed by Khalil Jubran, who once wrote “The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain.”
But to do that we must be fully present to our grief and our loss. Fear of grief, and fear of experiencing grief, keeps us in fear, running away from our perceived daemons. Living in fear, there can be no full joy.
Given the title of my presentation, “The Crisis in Religion in Our Time: The Historic Transformation of the Three Great Monotheistic Religions”, it would be natural for you to think that this morning’s presentation is mainly about religion. But as I said, actually I come to talk to you about spirituality, and how our spirituality can be affected by non-spiritual events that are taking place in our world. Today’s topic contains within it a certain amount of loss and potential grief for all of us, and for our world. My hope is to bring this religious transformation and that loss more fully to our awareness, in the hope that this might help us all – eventually down the road — move through that sense of loss so that we might heighten and even enliven our own spirituality.
“Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice” and “moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue.” Karl Hess, speechwriter for former Senator Barry Goldwater, wrote those words for Goldwater’s 1964 Presidential campaign. But the kind of extremism that we’re seeing in the modern Middle East is not in the service of liberty, but rather about exclusivity and oppression.
The Middle East has long been thought of as a cradle of Western civilization. It’s also, of course, the area that is holding the greatest proven reserves of the world’s petroleum, and as a result is now often a center of world political affairs.
It goes without saying that there has been extremism in the human family throughout recorded history. Extremism, per se, is nothing new. What is new, however, is the ability of small groups of extremists to influence great numbers of people, as well as national and even international affairs. Technology and communication advances have made it possible for extremists to obtain immense exposure, and have an inordinate influence on the lives of all of us, much greater so than in the past.
The beginning of significant religious extremism in the modern day Middle East begins not in the Middle East, but rather in Europe. A quick and simplified review of history leads us to understand that anti-Semitic extremism in Europe in the eighteen hundreds led to the formulation of the political movement of Zionism. This was a nationalist movement made up of European Jews dedicated to the proposition of creating a homeland where the Jewish people might exercise self-determination and escape the ravages of European anti-Semitism. This led to something very similar to what happened in our own country, where Europeans came to our shores and took over the land of the Native American population. What eventually happened in the Middle East was the immigration of European Jews into Palestine, taking over the land from the indigenous Palestinian population.
At the beginning of that process, that was nothing new in the annals of humanity, except for one thing. The ethnic cleansing of Palestine is a process that has taken place in an era whereby, through modern means of communication, the process has been reported to, and seen by, the rest of the world. You can imagine how the theft of our own U. S. land from its own native population might be viewed by the rest of the world if that theft were to be carried out starting today. What was done then to the Native American population would be totally unacceptable to the world today.
While I’m not here to talk about the theft of any land, I am here to talk about the theft of the great humanistic values of Spiritual Judaism by some Jewish political nationalists, some of whom have adopted extremist nationalist measures in the name of Judaism. The great, historic, prophetic values of Judaism have been, and are being, subverted and stolen by these political extremists who speak in the name of Judaism, and that historic theft not only has great implications on and for Judaism, but for the entire region and the world at large. Though these extremists present themselves in the name of Judaism, they do not behave in ways that we historically know to be Jewish. And this is causing the world, including some within the Jewish community itself, to wonder what it means to be a Jew, and what is Judaism becoming, and is Judaism synonymous with a certain kind of nationalism.
The world-wide Jewish community is undergoing somewhat of a schism as a result of these nationalist extremists, and this is having, and will have, significant effects on Judaism as we go forward. Judaism will not be the same as we have known it because of the trends of extremism that have developed within that community. It’s important to understand that some of that extremism is a result of trauma and woundedness that has resulted from centuries of anti-Semitic oppression, not the least of which were the horrors of the Holocaust in the 1930s and ’40s.
But let us go one step further, or rather one religion further. Partly in reaction to the growth of Jewish, or rather Zionist, nationalism, extremism is, in like manner, flourishing emphatically in the same region within Islam. At first, this Islamic extremism was a reaction to Zionist extremism and Western support for Israel. Along with that came, from some undereducated Moslems. a kind of confused conflation of Judaism and Zionism, and as a result anti-Semitism has increased in the region, another kind of extremism. But now another significant branch of Islamic extremism has surfaced, one related to the 13 hundred year-long dispute between the two main divisions of Islam, the Sunni and the Shia. And as a result of this Islamic extremism, some of it known as Wahhabism, and much like what is happening within Judaism, the great, historic, prophetic, humanistic elements of Islam are now also being subverted by Moslem extremists. And like within Judaism, the world is now left to wonder: “What does it mean to be a Moslem, or what in fact is Islam?” We are left to ponder the question: “Is Islam morphing right before our eyes into something previously unrecognizable?”
Like within Judaism, these Moslem extremists speak in the name of Islam, and in the name of nationalism, yet they do not act in ways that we historically understand to be Islamic. And as the United States military attacks them, these extremists get just what they want — more followers. In both Judaism and Islam, the prophetic voices have diminished as the political voices have increased, while the Christian voices in the region have been marginalized altogether. In the case of Judaism, extremism is supported both by state actors — namely, Israel and the United Sates — as well as non-state individuals and associations. In the case of Islam, extremism is also being supported by state actors — predominately Saudi Arabia — as well as by non-state individuals and associations.
What the world is now witnessing is a historical and profound upheaval in the history of these two religions. The problem for the extremists is that the majority of their respective co-religionists are simply not buying into the extremist vision, so they are still marginalized in numbers, while at the same time garnering the attention of the world through their violence. They are not only attempting to take control of their respective mainstreams — unsuccessfully, so far — but are carrying out actions that are changing world perceptions of these religions as they are lived out day to day.
Now, let us go to our third religion. Partly as a result of the growth of extremism in these two religions, the region is in turmoil, and what is taking place as a byproduct is impacting the third great religion, Christianity. Their situation is a little different. There is now the historic out migration of Christians from the Middle East. For some 1300 years since the rise of Islam, there has been relatively peaceful coexistence in the Middle East between these three religious communities. That fragile flower of coexistence and cooperation has changed in a historical blink of an eye, and now in some places swords are drawn, and no plowshares or pruning hooks are in sight, except in small numbers held by a few strong hearts that continue to uphold the values of tolerance and love.
This departure of Christians from the region is not just taking place as minority Christian communities are coming under direct assault or oppression from extremist Moslems in various areas, such as in Syria by ISIS, but it is also happening in the Holy Land, which is, of course, the birthplace of Jesus and Christianity. This out-migration of Christians is due mostly to the oppression being encountered at the hands of Jewish extremists, who tend to be in relatively high numbers in the Israel settler movement. And this means that the world is now on the brink of witnessing, for the first time in history, the virtual severing of the 2,000-year-long continuously unbroken link of the Christian community living in the land of its birth.
That is to say, Christians are leaving the Holy Land due to the worsening situation they’re encountering as Palestinians, and are seeking asylum elsewhere, often in the U.S. The Holy Land will soon be almost completely devoid of any significant numbers of Christians for the first time since Christianity spread. What does this historic and profound severing of Christians living in the birth-land mean for the history and future of Christianity? No one can yet know. But we do know that it’s happening, even though we cannot yet know what the implications will be.
It should be said here that Christianity as well has had its own share of extremists and zealots over the centuries, but in general we do not see that happening right now in the Middle East, in part because the Christian communities in the Middle East are minorities and are thus relatively powerless.
We’re in the midst of historic upheaval in these three great religions. Extremism and its fallout are bringing this about. What we can surmise is that these changes in these religions – which are followed by over 2 billion people around the globe — will have a significant effect on our world. This is a process that’s under way, a process that’s taking place daily, though it’s sometimes hard for us to see. Often it’s not reported to us by our news sources, except in very dramatic fashion when there’s brutal violence that comes about as a result of the actions of extremists. The violence is reported to us, but the underlying significance of this transformation is rarely mentioned.
Now, the transformation in these three religions is obviously not the most significant thing happening in our world today, nor the greatest thing calling for our attention, or even our greatest loss. And certainly the Middle East does not hold a monopoly on religious extremism. Even so, the deeper significance of this religious extremism is under-reported, and the reason I bring it to your attention is because Seekers of Silence is a group that originally formed out of a religious context.
This historic turmoil that we’re living through, including the subverting by some of the great humanistic values of Judaism and Islam, may lead to a great loss for humanity. In years to come, historians are likely to write extensively about the seismic changes that you and I are living through today. I certainly cannot know why all these things are happening, or what lasting effects will be brought about. From a “trusting-the-universe” perspective, maybe it’s all for the good in the long run, even though we might not be able to know why right now. But even if that’s true, getting to that point way down the road is likely to entail a great deal of suffering, turmoil, violence, and instability, just as we’re witnessing these days with the millions of Syrians who are now displaced and/or homeless refugees.
So, to come full circle back to the beginning of this talk, to bring this situation to our attention is to encourage us to be present with this humanitarian loss. We often hear and see discouraging, even tragic, news, but many times we have no emotions, pushing reactions aside, maybe thinking that those events aren’t really of importance to us personally. When we sidestep direct encounters with loss and grief, we’re the poorer for it, and we then tend to reside in a kind of spiritually-diminished place, living on the surface of life. Another way to think about this is to say that, psychologically and spiritually speaking, sometimes the most dangerous way to live is to try to live safely.
If things continue on the current path within these three religions, or even get worse, this loss for the world and the attempted highjacking of the great values of Judaism and Islam, which have in the past been religions to create good for their adherents and for the world, could be something that each of us may need to grieve, because the fallout and suffering created by these extremists will likely be huge. Grieving may be necessary if we’re to have lives filled with the life-affirming spirituality that we seek, for to not grieve the sadness of it all may mean that each of us is less fully alive and present.
And beyond these religions, to bring this home to us today, what is our responsibility as people of conscience, and what is our duty? What is our responsibility to ourselves, for if we as individuals are not spiritually healthy, then there’s little we can do to better our relationships, or our world. We as individuals certainly can’t do much to change what’s happening in the Middle East, but what are we called to do to be present, to pay attention to this historic religious transformation that’s taking place? Are we called upon to acknowledge and sit in silence with this upheaval, or other discouraging developments taking place in our world? Though we might not consciously feel sadness or grief over these developments, are we called to grieve for what the world is sometimes having to endure? If we grieve, can grief and gratitude coexist within us simultaneously? If we grieve, rather than that being simply an entry into dark space, might our grief also be a gift to the world, a healing gift?
If we have a propensity to avoid our grief, any grief, might there be an element of fear present, thinking that if we fall apart we might never be able to put ourselves back together again? And if grief is ever an appropriate response, are there mechanisms that we might create collectively to help facilitate that process, turning to each other for comfort and support? If we don’t stop our hurried lives to focus on this and other breathtaking events that are transpiring, are we consigning ourselves to a numbness that will eventually work to deaden our lives?
Finally, beyond gathering in times of silence, can a group like Seekers of Silence be a conscious vehicle to facilitate grieving for its members? Or once we pay attention to what is transpiring, are we called rather to merely accept things as they are, trusting in the universe and its unknowable workings? These and others are often unanswerable questions, but it’s in the asking that we’re led by our higher power to a more healthy version of ourselves. Such a version would be more spiritually alive, radiating the joyful potential and spark of the Divine that resides in each one of us, and thus offering each one of us greater hope for the future.